The Lesser Evil
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Aizen Sousuke and Urahara Kisuke share a secret that Soul Society has long forgotten. One accepted, while the other rebelled and paid the price. But what will happen when the past comes back to haunt them? Is love enough to stop a man who once sought godhood to right what he felt was wrong? And really, should he be stopped? yaoi, mpreg Aizen/Urahara
1. The Truth in Blood

**The Lesser Evil**

**By Spunky0ne**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Okay, as promised, an Aizen/Urahara love story!**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 1: The Truth in Blood**

"Urahara Kisuke," said the head councilor of Central 46, looking down from his place among his brethren to where the former taichou stood in the center of the chamber, "We appreciate you taking the time to come here. I know you are a busy man, so I will be brief. The battle with the quincies has claimed the lives of several taichous. As such, we have been charged with helping to decide who should replace them. In short, having given consideration to all of the candidates, we have decided that...you should have been included among them. The only reason that you were not is that you had been banished. And although this council has never before rescinded a banishment, we are willing to consider your contributions to Soul Society and offer you reinstatement. So, tell us, are you interested in returning to the twelfth division as its taichou? With Kurotsuchi Mayuri gone, missing and reported dead, the division is currently leaderless."

"What about Kurotsuchi Nemu?" Kisuke queried, "Where's she?"

"Missing and presumed dead as well."

_Or maybe the two are just off plotting together and don't want to be bothered._

"In any case, even if they do return," the head councilor went on, they are wanted for war crimes...for the unlawful collection of, experimentation on and alteration of a number of quincy captives. I assure you, they have a long list of offenses to account for. The Gotei 13 must convey an image of strength and commitment to duty. We feel that you would best represent our goals. So, what say you?"

Kisuke sighed softly, lowering his eyes.

"It strange," he said quietly, "When this all began and I was first expelled from Soul Society, there wasn't anything I wouldn't have done to be accepted back again. It was...painful, having done what needed to be done to stop Aizen, then to be instead blamed for the things he did, and the things I did to save lives he tried to take. It was tempting to hold a grudge, but instead I just tried to make something of a life, there in Karakura Town. And having put such great effort into creating the shop and caring for things there, I don't think I should abandon what I've built there."

"That is understandable," said the head councilor, "And it would certainly be fine that, as the head of the twelfth division, you could continue to make your base there. You would need to take part in taichou's activities and check in regularly with your division, but you would be welcome to bring Tessai in as your fukutaichou to assist in your efforts. We are rescinding his banishment as well."

"You are?" Kisuke said, looking surprised.

"Yes, we are. So, you see, the circumstances are favorable to you. We will only ask one thing of you if you return to us."

"And that is?"

The councilor looked around the room at his colleagues briefly, then back at Kisuke.

"If you accept our terms, we will ask that your first mission be...to find a way to remove the hougyoku from Aizen Sousuke's body."

"Heh," Kisuke mused, shaking his head, "I don't know if I can do that. It's been over a hundred years and I haven't managed to come up with that yet."

"Urahara Kisuke," the head councilor said firmly, "You are the greatest mind in our society. And you created the hougyoku. If there is anyone who could find a way to remove it from the traitor, Aizen's body, you can. So, what say you? Will you accept the taichou's position and this first mission?"

Kisuke gave them a sly smile.

"Well, I suppose if you can be forgiving and make a place for me here, I can be forgiving too. Okay, I accept your offer."

A pleased rumble went through the room.

"Very well, Urahara Kisuke, you are hereby reinstated as Taichou of the twelfth division and head of the Research and Development Department. And your first order is to remove the hougyoku from Aizen Sousuke's body."

XXXXXXXXXX

The sound of his cell door opening brought Aizen Sousuke into full wakefulness, and he cast his one uncovered eye on the doorway and couldn't help but smile at the person he saw entering.

"Why, Urahara Kisuke," he said cordially, "To what do I owe the dubious pleasure of your company?"

He looked more closely and his eye widened.

"Ah, I see. You have been reinstated. Let me offer you my congratulations."

"Thanks," Kisuke said, smiling back at him.

"So, let me guess," Aizen said sedately, "They have commissioned you with removing the hougyoku from my body, ne? Using any means you must...even if it kills me?"

"I see that being locked up hasn't dulled your mind," the twelfth division taichou commented, moving closer and beginning to remove the prisoner's restraints.

"Oh, of course not," Aizen said casually, "I am careful to exercise my mind to keep it fit, then I spend hours planning each step I will take, once I leave this place."

"You mean, in twenty-thousand years, when they have to let you go? Assuming that you don't get your time extended again for bad behavior, that is."

"Ah, but it is difficult to be properly wicked when one is tied to a chair all of the time, never fed or bathed, barely spoken to, except when they come to try to remove the hougyoku in various horrid ways."

"Oh?" Kisuke said, frowning as he slipped a silver band onto each slender wrist and then continued to work at the leather straps, "How have the fools tried to do that? Wait, let me guess, they tried to cut it out of your chest, ne?"

"Yes," Aizen confirmed, I just regenerated, of course, and the hougyoku reappeared in its place in my chest."

Kisuke sucked in a surprised breath as he uncovered the rest of the prisoner's arms and found them heavily bruised and still bleeding in some places.

"Ah," Aizen said quietly, feeling an odd twinge at the expression that came over the scientist's face, "They discovered that I regenerate more slowly when fully bound. So, when they torment me now, they are quick to set the bindings back in place quickly, so that I will suffer more."

"Have they raped you?" Kisuke asked, drawing a look of genuine surprise from Aizen...and a completely honest answer.

"Wouldn't you, if you had the most wicked traitor known to our society completely helpless in front of you and no one cared what you did to him, because he couldn't die? Don't be naìve. Of course they raped me. Repeatedly."

Kisuke said nothing in answer, only continuing to release the bonds.

"Does that please you?" Aizen asked, "But you don't look pleased. That is twice that you have taken me by surprise in a very short time. Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe the time locked up in here is causing my mind to weaken."

"No, I was just angry."

"Hmmm, angry because...?" Aizen asked, smirking, "Right, because you are a great defender of justice, aren't you, Urahara Kisuke? And it seems wrong to you, even though I am a foul criminal, to abuse my body and treat me to torments not prescribed for me in my sentence. And you are aware, aren't you? As soon as you discover the way to remove the hougyoku, they are going to confiscate it and be poisoned by its power."

"That's why I'm going to destroy it," Kisuke said simply.

"Are you?" Aizen asked curiously, "How will you do that? I suppose they will be watching you, ne? And if it looks like you are going to destroy it, they will try to stop you in whatever way it takes."

"Don't worry about that," Kisuke said, removing the last of the bonds and biting at his lip gently as he observed the heavy damage to Aizen's naked and fully revealed body, "I've got it covered."

A silence rose up between them as Kisuke watched the awful slashes and bruises slowly fade. Kisuke cleared his throat briefly and handed the former taichou a plain, white yukata.

"Put that on," he ordered the prisoner, "I am taking you to Karakura Town. I haven't had a chance yet to move my things back into the Seireitei, so we will conduct our experiments there, for now."

"A good move, since they have undoubtedly bugged the entire twelfth division, probably placing operatives within the ranks and such..." Aizen suggested.

"Of course," Kisuke agreed, "I expected that. The bonds I've placed on you are a new development of mine called dimensional overlay."

"That sounds fascinating," Aizen said approvingly, "How does it work?"

"Well, they open a sort of pocket dimension around you that separates you from this one, but allows me to 'reach in' and affect you."

"Is it also possible for me to 'reach out?'" Aizen asked.

"Only as much as I choose to let you and only in what ways I allow."

"How very crafty of you," Aizen complimented him, "I look forward to testing the parameters of this. It is a wonderful invention."

"Well, I couldn't just let you walk around hypnotizing everyone along the way, ne? And I have to get close to figure out how to separate you from the hougyoku, so..."

"I look forward to that _closeness_," Aizen chuckled slyly, "Although I haven't suffered from a lack of sexual attentions, they haven't been as pleasant as those a highly intelligent man like you might offer."

"It also protects you from being interfered with by people other than me unless I allow it," Kisuke said, ignoring Aizen's seductive words completely, "So, unless you really piss me off, no one but me has any access to you."

"You are protecting me?" Aizen said, an edge of surprise in is voice.

"Well, you were right that they would probably kill you as soon as that thing came out of you, if they could."

"So you...?"

"So, I am taking over your imprisonment, using this dimensional separator that I invented. Who knows, if it works well, we may not need to put people in jails anymore. With proper oversight, this device could revolutionize the way we treat and rehabilitate criminals."

"You think I can be rehabilitated?" Aizen asked, looking amused, "As unlikely as it is, I would really like to see you try that."

"Well, we'll see about that later," Kisuke said, motioning towards the open cell door, "For now, we're going to my lab in the living world."

Aizen paused, looking from the open door to Kisuke again.

"I suppose you have a means to locate and return me if I...stray?"

"Yeah. Let's put it this way. You can try to escape, but you will be brought back to me upon my command. You can try to hurt me, but you won't be able to reach me. All that exists that can touch you, and that you can touch is me. Your fate is completely in my hands...and if they had asked me to? I would have used this device to lock you into that pocket dimension you're in and throw away the key. I don't have that option, so this will have to do."

"I suppose I should be glad that you have some sense of morality."

"Yeah, you should."

"You are a very complex person, Urahara Kisuke. I have to say honestly that I am looking forward to seeing you tackle this. It will be interesting to see what you try."

The two exited the cell and passed through the security checkpoint, then slowly traversed the levels of the prison until they reached the surface. They left the Central 46 compound and stepped out into a lovely, spring afternoon. Aizen paused, breathing in deeply.

"I thought that I was not able to interact with...?"

"You are bound by the parameters I set," Kisuke explained, "I control everything...what you see, what you hear, smell, taste, and feel."

"That is an odd reversal, considering my powers," mused Aizen.

"I thought you'd enjoy that," Kisuke chuckled, "Anyway, I don't see any harm in letting you enjoy the fresh air an such, as long as you behave yourself and don't cause me any trouble. I can always take these things away at any time. But then, that's what you bought when you decided to turn against us all."

"You make it sound like more of a rash decision than the painful choice it was."

"You don't think it was painful for anyone else?" Kisuke asked, an edge in his voice, "You don't think it was painful for the people you deceived, injured and killed on your way to trying to 'stand at the top?'"

"Do you want me to be sorry?" Aizen asked calmly, "I'm not."

"I know."

"And you, of all people, know what made me make the choice I did. You didn't have the courage, although you had the mind and the powers to..."

"Don't go there. That's water under the bridge," Kisuke said shortly, "I said it then and I'll say it again, what we have may not be the only way or even the best way, but it is the way our world is constructed. If we abandon it just because we're angry about the way it works, then we'd only be destroying everything that matters."

"Ah, but when you said that before, it surprised me. You see...when you said that, you had already lost what mattered most to you...hadn't you, Urahara Kisuke?"

"Shut up!" Kisuke snapped, drawing a look of silent sympathy from the prisoner, "Don't bring that up. That's water under the bridge too."

"Is it?" asked Aizen, moving closer, "You might want to remember that _water under the bridge_ you are talking about was my brother! He _wasn't_ just your..."

"I told you to shut up!" Kisuke shouted, "Don't talk about that to me, ever again."

"Why not?" Aizen asked, his eyes narrowing, "Aren't you a champion of _truth_, Kisuke? The truth is that my brother was a good man...a better man than I am. He should have lived and I should have been the one to die! That bastard up there that I wanted so badly to murder and replace _knew_ that I was right and he just sat there and..."

"He did what he had to do," Kisuke said, shaking his head, "Please, just...don't say anymore. Let's go, okay? Or if you want, you can go back and sit in that cell in Muken for the next twenty-thousand years and just hope that nobody comes up with a way to take the hougyoku. Because, if they do that, they're going to kill you. Law or no law, they hate you that much."

"And you don't?"

"No?"

"Really? After everything?" Aizen mused, following as Kisuke opened the way into the precipice world and stepped inside, "Truly, Urahara Kisuke, you are a fascinating person. No wonder _he _loved you."

"Come on," Kisuke said darkly, turning his eyes away, "before I change my mind about this."


	2. Revival

**Chapter 2: Revival**

**(Thanks so very much to all of the enthusiastic supporters of this story. I am thrilled with the response and will keep the chapters coming. My gratitude to Nyma (Ah yes! The story of Aizen's brother and the circumstances surrounding his death will come out slowly, but some will be in this chapter!), PlayMyPoisonousGame (I'm so glad you gave this one a chance! I will do my best to keep it hopping!), Anon (Aizen doesn't like playing uke to anyone, but he does see Kisuke as his mental equal, so he might agree to it once before the story's over. We'll see!), Aizenfan6969 (Yay! So glad you're reading along!), MissLilly2012 (Ah yes, that is a story to be told! It will encompass why Aizen and Kisuke acted as they did and will bring them together as they search for an answer to separating Aizen from the hougyoku.), lilbit1016 (I'm glad you're enjoying it!), Kyuumihaira (Oh, the turns and twists I have planned!), Sakurayuri89 (Yay! I'm really motivated to keep this one active!), Henka-chan (Aww, so glad to sweep you off your feet!), CallMeSenseiKuchiki (I like trying new things too! I'm so glad this one was requested. The chemistry between these two is bubbling and spitting fire!), Alabirdie (Yup! I am working on getting in Blood Rain and A Thousand Pleasures, just working out what to do next with them, but soon!), Eva Galana (You are very, very welcome! I also think that Kisuke is one of the few people Aizen actually respects. And Kisuke is a little this side of dark, himself, so yeah, they seem to click! Thanks so much for suggesting it!), and Sariniste (These two have a secret between them and that makes their interactions more complex. Kisuke is guarded, but has more insight into Aizen than most people. He's going to keep his guard up, but Aizen is a determined and crafty man. He's going to be a real temptation!) Enjoy the chapter! Love, Spunky) **

"What's wrong?" Kisuke asked as he led his prisoner into the underground training room and nodded in the direction of the nearby hot spring, "You looked surprised for a moment, there."

"I was," Aizen confessed, "I would have thought that your first concern would not be my comfort, but attendance to your mission. You do, after all, concur with the council that I should be deprived of the hougyoku as soon as possible."

"Of course I do," Kisuke said evenly, "I just don't want to have to smell the stench of your unwashed body while I work on you."

"Hmmm, that makes sense," Aizen said, slipping out of his yukata and watching as Kisuke disrobed, then led him down into the bubbling water.

He sighed contentedly and slid down beneath the surface, eager to rid himself of the dust and filth, and the sticky leavings of his more recent attackers. He could feel Kisuke's grey eyes watching him as he surfaced and slowly washed away the grime, then stood and walked to one of the gentle waterfalls, where he washed his hair repeatedly until the stiffness and dullness gave way to its original softness and shine. When he was completely clean, he returned to the soaking area and sank down next to Kisuke, smirking slightly as he noticed an aggressiveness in his eyes and that he had shifted slightly to hide what the former taichou suspected was an impressive arousal.

"You have my gratitude," he said quietly, "Cleanliness might not seem important sometimes, but when one is deprived of it for a long time, he very much appreciates its return."

"No worries. Like I said, I didn't want to smell your stink. Feel free to spruce up when we're done here. I put your usual fragrance over there with some fresh clothes."

"To what do I owe the exceptional kindness?" the former taichou asked, his eyes narrowing slightly, "One might think that you had an ulterior motive. Perhaps you just wanted to see me naked?"

"Oh, I'll have plenty of that while we're figuring out how to get that thing out of your chest. And any kindness I show you is only on your brother's account, seeing how I owe him a lot I can't repay."

"I see."

Kisuke sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back against the edge of the hot spring.

"He was a good kid...a much better person than you and me. He was a great scientist too."

"Hmmm, it didn't escape me that you followed up on a great deal of his work. I have to say that it speaks to what you must have felt for him."

"Does that bother you?"

"No. Not at all. Daisuke was certainly of age to make his own decisions. And while I didn't agree with all of them, his connection with you was a promising one, if only for the scientific advances that you made together. That your interest in him became sexual didn't matter much to me, as I knew you would not mistreat him."

"Is that why you think I won't 'mistreat' you?" Kisuke asked, looking at him out of the corner of one grey eye.

"It doesn't matter whether you do or not. You couldn't possibly be any worse than those animals that guarded me in the prison."

"And you think that you deserve better than that, after what you did?" Kisuke asked, a tension coming into his voice, "You can make all of the excuses in the world, Sousuke, but that doesn't take away what you did to those councilors, slaughtering them, one by one, without any warning and no explanation. You enjoyed killing them, too."

"Yes. They deserved it. You know they did."

"Yeah, well, no one else understood that, and you know why."

"They erased everything," Aizen mused, his voice softening slightly, "His creation of the hougyoku, the death they sent him to, their own memory, because they thought the hougyoku too dangerous to exist."

"It was a power they weren't ready to understand. And after they started to see how powerful it was, they decided that it just couldn't be."

"They should have killed you too," Aizen said suddenly, "We should have been with him. If not for you, we would have been."

"You mean, if Daisuke hadn't covered up our connections..."

"And you hadn't gotten in my way."

"I did what he wanted. He didn't want you to die because of what _he_ created! I just respected that. I couldn't save him, at that point, and you know that."

"That is the only reason I didn't end up hating you enough to kill you then."

"No, you settled for bastardizing what your brother created for peaceful uses and setting me up to be banished."

"Well, at least they didn't execute _you_," Aizen reminded him, frowning, "You seem comfortable enough here, not bothered by what those corrupted old men do. You shouldn't have gone back. This is better."

"Well, I'm not exactly leaving this behind," Kisuke said, sitting up slowly, then climbing out of the hot spring.

Aizen followed, his dark eyes trailing down the shopkeeper's bare back and watching the dribbles of water roll down over his rounded bottom. Kisuke stopped and picked up a towel, then handed a second one to Aizen. Aizen caught a fleeting glimpse of Kisuke's pale chest, slightly erect nipples, slim abdomen and somewhat aroused genitals, then frowned more deeply as he spotted what looked to be an old injury on the shopkeeper's abdomen. He moved closer, ignoring the way the other man stiffened and quickly covered himself.

"Kisuke?"

"Don't ask about it."

Aizen went quiet, considering.

"You...tried to save him anyway? You too?"

"I said not to ask about it!" the shopkeeper snapped, flash stepping away, "Just dry off, dress and meet me in the lab."

"Hmmm," the former taichou mused to himself, "Interesting..."

He took his time dressing, then climbed the ladder that led out of the training room and emerged into the house portion of Kisuke's shop. He paused as a tall, mustached man with dark hair and glasses stepped into the hallway and stopped in front of him.

"Urahara taichou has asked me to see that you eat before you go to join him."

"No, thank you. I have very little reiatsu flow, so I don't need much food."

"You will come with me," Tessai insisted, laying a hand on his arm.

Aizen flinched as he felt a small shock in his arm and his feet moved to obey the directive. His lips stiffened, but he followed calmly and sat down at the table, where the other man had laid out a large meal for him.

"The tests and experiments Urahara taichou will be running will require you to have sufficient stamina to endure them. Eat."

He complied without comment, stealing glances at the other man as he turned away and began to make a pot of tea.

"How have you been, Tessai?" he asked cordially.

"You mean, since being reinstated from the banishment I earned because of you?" the other man asked shortly, "I am fine, if a bit annoyed at having you show up here and have to treat you much like a guest."

"I can see how that would be troubling, but if Kisuke puts his mind to things, then I should be out of your way quickly."

The other man glanced over his shoulder and scowled.

"Not soon enough for me. Enough talking, now eat."

Aizen sighed and focused on the meal in front of him, consuming it in slow, measured bites, so as not to shock his long deprived systems. A soft sigh of contentment went through him at the deep, savory flavors he had missed, the variety of textures and the sweetness of the delectable pastry served with his tea at the end. His eyes were blinking sleepily as he rose and started to follow Tessai down the hallway.

He came to a stop, halfway down the hall, feeling a strange burning in his abdomen, and reaching down to rub the area as he continued into the lab. He felt a swirl of dizziness and heard Kisuke say something, then felt himself falling and heard himself loose an agonized gasp. Urgent hands swiftly opened his yukata and healing power blazed all around his collapsed form. He caught a glimpse of Kisuke's infuriated face and heard him make a sound of disgust.

"I was stupid thinking that they wouldn't have had people ready here. This guy has a ton of enemies."

"But, they must have known it wouldn't kill him," Tessai objected, "Even though the poison burned away much of his stomach, he just regenerates."

"This wasn't meant to kill him," Kisuke explained, "Someone wanted him in pain. They wanted him to suffer agony. If not for that pain block I gave him, he would be out of his mind with hurt."

"May I ask you a sort of indelicate question, Boss? Why do you care about his pain? After everything he did...?"

"Just because he's a total bastard and he screwed us all over real bad doesn't make him any less a living soul. If it was wrong to do what he did, it's also wrong for someone to do this to him. He's serving his time. The assholes at that prison put him through a living nightmare way worse than what those councilors suffered when he killed them."

"I know a lot of people who would think he deserves worse."

"Yeah, well, they're not responsible for him. That's my job."

"It will be a relief when you finish separating him from the hougyoku and he is sent back, ne?"

Kisuke was silent for a moment.

"Yeah. I think he'll be all right now. His stomach and intestines seem to have finished regenerating. But there was some internal bleeding and contamination that seem to have caused an infection. I'm going to give him an antibiotic. Give him another pain block before you go, okay?"

"Sure, Boss."

Aizen felt the touch of the bigger man's palms on his abdomen, then began to fade into unconsciousness.

"You know, sometimes you remind me of him," Kisuke's voice said quietly, as though he didn't expect to be heard, "Maybe that's why I can't completely hate you. Maybe that's why..."

The words faded out and the room went still and dark. His only awareness was of a pair of grey eyes that watched closely as he slept and occasional touches of a cool, wet cloth on his face and throat.

_Urahara Kisuke, you are a complex man._

_Fascinating..._

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, what's going on, Tessai?" Ichigo asked, frowning, "What does Kisuke need me and Tetsuya for?"

"Well," the bespectacled man said solemnly, "You are about the only people with any amount of power that would not take any chance to attack Aizen Sousuke."

"Aizen!" Ichigo exclaimed, "What's that about? What's going on? Isn't Aizen in Muken?"

"Actually, no," Tetsuya said, a flash of guilt showing on his face, "It is not meant to be spoken to anyone not of highest clearance, but Central 46 ordered Aizen turned over to Urahara Kisuke so that he could try to find a way to remove the hougyoku from his body. I am sorry that I could not tell you, but I only knew because I was with Byakuya-sama when the taichous were informed. We were all sworn to secrecy."

"So, Aizen's here?" Ichigo mused, looking spooked, "Is he still all tied up?"

"No, the boss is using another means to control him," Tessai explained, "Don't worry. He can't harm anyone as he is right now. But, unfortunately, someone harmed him. They poisoned his food, brazenly and while we were all on our guard. I still have not figured out how it was done."

"Didn't the hougyoku just make him regenerate?"

"Yes, but that does not take away the agony of the poison that attacked and destroyed his stomach and intestines. Regeneration of them was slow and exceedingly painful."

"And even though we might not like Aizen or what he did, it's not right for someone to attack him like that."

"That is how Urahara taichou feels," Tessai affirmed, "So, he wants you to remain with us for a few days. We have cleared Tetsuya-san's stay with Kuchiki taichou, and he and Renji-san will be here to rotate with you to guard the shop while we conduct the necessary experiments."

"We will, of course, help out watching over things," said Tetsuya, "Arashi is with my cousin, but he will join us here and assist with the watch once Byakuya-sama and Renji-san arrive."

"How was their wedding, by the way?" Tessai asked, the hint of a smile touching his lips.

"Oh, you know, it was a clan leader's wedding, so the ceremony was boring as hell," Ichigo chuckled, "but the party after was good, ne Tetsuya?"

The noble blushed and bit at his lips gently.

"It was...enjoyable," he confessed.

"All right, let's go take up our positions," Ichigo said, taking his lovely boyfriend's hand.

"Just you mind you watch the shop and don't be too distracted with each other," Tessai said sternly.

"Okay, okay!" laughed Ichigo, "C'mon Tetsuya.

XXXXXXXXXX

Aizen Sousuke felt a throbbing ache in his head and belly and groaned uncomfortably, trying to turn onto his side, but finding that his body had been set in soft restraints. He opened his eyes and found himself strapped to an examination table, his yukata opened and his naked body bared to a strong light. Electrodes had been carefully placed here and there on his slender, muscular torso and the hougyoku removed.

He turned his head slightly and found Kisuke sitting in a lab chair, holding and examining the hougyoku, then taking notes into his computer.

"Hang on a sec," he said absently, "I'll be over there in a minute and turn off that light. It's probably blinding you."

"I am fine," the former taichou answered calmly, "though I would have preferred if you had done me the decency of covering me while you were not examining me."

"Since when did you become shy?" Kisuke said, smirking.

"I am not shy in the slightest. It is uncomfortable because of my recent experiences with the guards in the prison."

"Oh."

Kisuke rose and set the hougyoku down, then walked back to Aizen's side and turned off the bright overhead light. He leaned over the restrained man, carefully removing the electrodes, his grey eyes politely averted, but still observing his naked charge. He released the restraints, then turned away as Aizen wrapped his yukata around his body and tied it closed again.

"You look perplexed," he observed, watching as Kisuke picked up the hougyoku again.

"I am...a little," the shopkeeper sighed, "This is going to take some real work. It's tedious thing, having to do all of it myself, but there aren't many people who know enough not to screw up the experiments."

"You could allow me to assist you," Aizen offered.

"And have you mess with the results?" Kisuke mused wearily, "I'm not that stupid."

"It may surprise you to know that I do not wish to have this device inside me any longer," Aizen said quietly, "As a matter of fact, as it no longer speaks to me, I find its presence annoying."

"But it does make you immortal."

"Hmmm," Aizen said thoughtfully, "That has turned out to be a rather dubious gift."

Kisuke considered the other man's words for several long minutes.

"That's interesting coming from you."

"I have had many long hours to consider it while those beasts tortured me. Before I am returned to that, I would rather have the possibility of living through that removed. If it doesn't deter them from attacking me, then at least the torment will not be allowed to go on indefinitely. That is a cruelty that even I had trouble tolerating. The men I killed in the council chambers all died nearly instantly, the only thing they heard as they died the soft utterance of my brother's name to make them remember."

"So, you may not mind killing, as long as it's fast and not cruel? Such a humanitarian," Kisuke sighed.

"I don't believe in causing unnecessary suffering."

"Yeah, well sometimes suffering is unavoidable."

"And sometimes it could be avoided if only one made the proper effort. But you know that _he _doesn't concern himself overly much with what happens to us down here. I know you disagree with what I did, but I felt there was no choice, but if the heavens wouldn't listen and act to help us, then they needed to be soundly shaken. That was all I meant to do."

"That, and kill the king and steal his power," Kisuke added dryly.

"That too," Aizen confessed, "but it wouldn't have been necessary if..."

"Yeah, I know the story and the excuses. Now, why don't we..."

"Kisuke," Aizen said suddenly, touching a palm to the other man's clothed abdomen, "Will you tell me what happened to you?"

"No," Kisuke answered in a clipped tone, "You could have asked one of the counselors in the chambers that day you went there, but, oh no...you killed them all. Now, I guess you just have to wonder."

He sucked in a surprised breath as Aizen's hand wrapped lightly around his wrist and the traitor's dark eyes captured his.

"You know, I studied that technique you used on Rukia to place the hougyoku within her, and I realized it was based on a technique that you and Daisuke were using to try to..."

"Shut up!" Kisuke snapped, stepping back and pulling his hand free, "That's none of your business."

Aizen watched him closely as he sat down and picked up the hougyoku again.

"What happened to the baby?" he asked softly.

"It died. I got stupid, I got hurt, the baby died. Now, shut up and leave me alone, will you?"

"I am sorry."

Kisuke froze for a moment, then shook his head and went on with his work. Aizen moved closer and sat down in a chair at his side, watching as the shopkeeper's mind considered the puzzle of the orb he held.

"Daisuke would have been a good father."

"Yeah."

Kisuke sat quietly, staring at the hougyoku and remembering.

"Why don't you look at what's in that opened file on my computer?" he instructed Aizen, "Maybe if the two of us put our minds to it, we can figure this out."

Moments later, the two were seated side-by-side, reading through the file together. It was late at night when Kisuke yawned and halted the examination, leading Aizen out of the lab and down the hallway to his bedroom.

"I was going to give you your own room," Kisuke explained, opening the door and motioning for the other man to enter, "but given the reception you got when you arrived, I think I'd better keep you a little closer. Just remember what I said about not attacking me. You can't."

"Very well, I will content myself with just sleeping. Lying down will be far more comfortable than being always in that chair."

"Yeah," Kisuke yawned, lying down and turning his back, "Enjoy it while it lasts."

"I will," Aizen breathed in his ear, surprising a small gasp from between the shopkeeper's parted lips as his body wrapped warmly around Kisuke's, "Thank you."


End file.
